This is the first post in a series I’ll be doing on my astrology practice and personal consultations. Do you have a general question about those topics (not about your individual chart)? Go ahead and ask! I might answer it in a future post.

You read your horoscope every week. You may even study the horoscopes for both your sun sign and your rising sign. On Sundays, you read last week’s horoscope again and reflect on how closely the themes matched your actual life. Crazy, right?

Astrology is uncanny like that. Every person with Sagittarius rising has an individual personality and life situation, and at the same time every Sagittarius rising is having a kind of “rebirth” moment right now, after some important endings.

Then again, maybe the horoscope you read this week doesn’t resonate with you. Maybe you’re a Sagittarius rising, and your horoscope looks rosy, but you feel like everything is still extremely hard—because what you don’t know is that you have natal Saturn in Capricorn, so you’re doing your Saturn return. Maybe you have the sun in Sagittarius, but Sagittarius horoscopes never seem to fit you—because what you don’t know is that you have Taurus rising and you would be better off reading horoscopes for Taurus.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about all of the other things that make up your personal natal chart. A horoscope only deals with one sign at a time – which means that even if your horoscope feels like it’s spot on, you’re still missing out on the thousands of variables involved in a personal astrological consultation.

Horoscopes have value. They predict the general astrological weather for the week ahead. They can inspire you, guide you, and give you some insight to focus on throughout the week. But personal consultations have more value than weekly horoscopes. Because a personal consultation is a customized horoscope that is all about you and your specific chart.

Here’s another way to think about it: a horoscope is like a slice of pie. Yummy.

But a personal consultation is a whole pie that you get to take home with you. Yummier.

So what can a personal consultation tell you that a horoscope can’t?

1. A personal consultation gives you a much more complete, complex portrait of your personality and life.

When I do personal consultations, I am reading your natal chart, based on your date, time, and place of birth.

Here’s what that looks like. Everyone has one of these, including you. Everyone’s chart is different (yes, even twins have slight differences between their charts).

What is this thing? It’s a map of the sky at the time of actress Jennifer Lawrence’s birth, otherwise known as her natal chart. JLaw was born in August, when the sun was in Leo. But that sun sign is only one sliver of her natal chart’s pie. —————————->

She also has Sagittarius rising (with Black Moon Lilith on the ascendant), Moon in Gemini, and Mercury on the Midheaven, at the very top of her chart. I mean, just look at all the rest of the stuff in her chart up there, aside from the sun. It’s full of stuff and things.

If JLaw came in for a personal consultation, I wouldn’t use too much astrological jargon like “midheaven.” But based on this chart, we would talk about her natural enthusiasm, her role as a feminist and subversive woman, her unquenchable curiosity, the earthiness that keeps her grounded, and her secret, buried mother wound.

That’s just a small sample of what we could talk about based on this chart. You have your own personal, natal chart. Within your personal pie, you have a lifetime of stories about you. Not just stories about what it means that you’re a Leo or a Pisces. Not just cookbook interpretations that you could read online like “Moon square Mercury equals X.” Stories about you, as a whole individual, and the rich, complex flavors of your life.

2. A personal consultation uses astrological techniques to look at your specific history and provide context for both the future and the present.

Before a natal chart consultation with a new client (what I call The Story of You), I use an astrological technique called solar arcs to look at the years that have led that client to my door. Certain time periods stand out, and sometimes those time periods have to do with a cycle that is coming around again.

In preparation for a consultation with one middle-aged client, I noticed that the themes arising for her at the time of the session were similar to patterns that had occurred when she was about sixteen years old. “What’s coming up for you feels a lot like what was happening when you were sixteen,” I told her. She said, “Yes! I feel that. It’s very similar. In fact, this situation at work now makes me feel a lot like I did when I was sixteen and moved to a new country.”

The most significant moments in your life are written in the patterns of the chart.

For example, I can see from JLaw’s solar arcs that starting in 2006, and especially in 2009, when solar arc Pluto met her ascendant, she was undergoing a tremendous transformation that impacted her entire life. Her Wikipedia bio shows that she began acting with a minor role in the TV movie Company Town in 2006, and had quite a few roles before she had her breakthrough with Winter’s Bone, which premiered in January 2010 (meaning she probably filmed it in 2009).

This would be a useful piece of information to reference later when we talk about the upcoming year, in which Jupiter is transiting the same part of her chart. Pluto and Jupiter are two different planets interacting with her chart in different ways and at different times, but in the same place – indicating change, power, possible wealth, and a fair amount of attention for JLaw.

3. A personal consultation uses astrological techniques to identify important themes for your life right now and pinpoint important upcoming dates.

Your personal natal chart isn’t a static portrait of you. You’re always changing, and in a way so is your chart, as the ever-changing sky interacts with important points and planets from the day of your birth.

When I look at the current transits to JLaw’s chart (above), I see that Jupiter is in her first house, helping her to expand her life, take risks, and remove obstacles. But I can also see that this is not an altogether rosy time for her, because Ruler of the Underworld Pluto is transiting Stern Saturn (retrograde) in her second house, bringing her down to her personal underworld to take a cold, hard look at her feelings of worthiness. She’s also doing her first Saturn Return, which means she’ll be tested for the first time as a true adult. Is she living her truest values? Is she building an inner sense of worthiness, or does she look outside of herself for her feelings of self-worth (to money, body image, or other people’s opinions)? Speaking of money, how is she handling it?

Given those transits, and the 2018 - 2020 Cancer-Capricorn eclipse cycle that will emphasize these even more, I would talk with this client about values, worth, body image, money stories, and the axis of security and freedom. I would ask her to tell me what comes up for her around these themes, and then we could talk about how it might play out this time. If she wanted me to, I could provide some suggestions for how best to work with this particular Saturn Return. I could also provide her with the specific dates when transiting Saturn will meet her natal Saturn: March 31st and May 29th, 2019. She could mark these dates in a calendar for future reference and pay attention to what happens at those times.

She wouldn’t get any of that just from reading her horoscope. A personal chart consultation includes customized predictions. And her chart shows me a lot more that we could talk about, too, given enough time.

I’ll get into more about each type of consultation in some future posts. For now, that sums up some of the most important things a consultation can do for you that a horoscope can’t.

Let’s recap.

Horoscopes:

Based on your sun sign or rising sign only

Predict the general astro-weather

Inspire and guide you

Give you some insight to focus on throughout the week

A slice of the pie

Personal Consultations:

Customized horoscope based on your full natal chart

A more complete, complex portrait of your personality and life

Uses astrological techniques to look at your specific history and provide context

Work With Me

Bustle quoted me again, this time in an article about how to tell if someone with air sign placements is crushing on you. Link in bio!⠀
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"In order for an air sign to really start crushing on you, they'll need to connect with you on an intellectual level first. "Good conversation is essential to them," Goss says. So they may ask for your opinion on things like politics, pop culture, or anything that's worth talking about. According to Goss, air signs are the most driven by the exchange of ideas. "This lets them show off their natural intelligence and cleverness," she says. "They also do it because they really want to get to know you."⠀
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Image Credit: Andrew Zaeh for Bustle.⠀
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#airsigns #gemini #libra #aquarius #crush #astrology #astrologersofinstagram #love #astrologyofrelationships #relationshipastrology

Just for fun! I was featured in Bustle's article on earth signs. Want to know if a Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn is crushing on you? Link in bio.⠀
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'"Earth signs deal with the realm of the material, so someone with earth sign placements is likely to show romantic interest in material and practical ways," Goss says. They may show their interested through physical touch. For instance, they may place their hand on your arm when you're touching or stay close when you're walking together.'⠀
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#earthsigns #taurus #virgo #capricorn #astrology #astrologylove #crush #crushing #astrologersofinstagram #love

Your weekly horoscopes are up! Link in bio.⠀
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Mercury enters Taurus today, where he slows down and contemplates before speaking, if he speaks at all. Mercury here is more about doing: growing things, building things, and expressing oneself through the manifestation of effort. Actions speak louder than words now. Mercury meets Uranus, sometimes called the higher octave of Mercury, in this sign (exact May 8th). Again, those themes of rewilding, radical pleasure, and the economy come to the forefront. What are you doing to rewild?⠀
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#astrology #horoscopes #horoscope #mercuryintaurus #uranusintaurus #rewild #astrologersofinstagram #cosmicwisdom #rebels

Read the Taurus new moon lunar letter & subscribe for more! Link in bio.⠀
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Some of that knowing comes through your nightdreams. Some of it comes through your daydreams: those visions of your future self that you just know are going to be real. You know it in your bones. If you tried to explain the embodied knowledge of your daydream self to someone else, that person might think you were talking about a wish, not a knowing. But if your body knows that something is true, you have to trust that. You don't have to tell anyone about it, and in fact it might feel safer not to. Let them be mystified. Go with your gut. Trust your bones.⠀
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#taurus #taurusseason #taurusgang #embodiedknowledge #embodied #body #knowing #trust #trustyourbones #trustyourgut #daydreams #dreams #astrology #astrologersofinstagram #newsletter #lunarletter #newmoon #newmoonintaurus #taurusnewmoon #beltane #beltaine #spring #darkmoon #taurusmoon

It's Beltane and I'm taking the day to do some non-business-related activities: reading, writing poetry, planting, and candle-making. I don't think about having a "balance" between "work" and "life" because so much of my work now is a joy, and I'm grateful for that. I think instead about the wheel of my life: business, creative play, health, home, relationships, spirituality...and how much attention everything is getting. Is every plant in the garden of my life getting water and sunlight? Some need more than others at different times.
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In reading Team Human, I'm confronting my complicity with algorithmic systems like Instagram, designed to capture attention, persuade us to purchase, extract data, and keep us hungry for more. It's a sick system that I have chosen to avoid as much as possible in my personal life. The conundrum is in running a business when social media has become the marketplace. I am also here to persuade, but I am more interested in commerce, in running a sustainable business, than I am in constant growth. I want to reach those who are ready to awaken their consciousness with astrology and coaching so I can help them recover their own power and transcend this exploitative game. And I'm on here because I have to meet you where you are. Maybe my way of being a spoilsport is to invite you to read long book passages on a photo app, and to make those book passages about breaking the system?
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Oh, and btw, I got this from the public library. It's great; it's like an IRL internet where you can access all kinds of knowledge for free, except the information is much more likely to be accurate. + NO ADS.
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Read Team Human. Find the Others.
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#beltane #witchesofinstagram #worklifebalance #reading #librariesrock #bookstagram #books #spoilsport #stayweird #teamhuman #findtheothers

Your weekly horoscopes are up! Link in bio.⠀
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Saturn stations retrograde at 21 degrees of Capricorn today. Just like every year, this retrograde lasts about 4 ½ months. Saturn will station direct at 14 degrees of Capricorn on September 18th. If you have personal planets between 14-21 degrees of Cardinal signs, you’re getting another taste of this salty Saturn transit this summer. This is yet another opportunity to reflect on your relationship to responsibility. What do you expect to reap, based on what you’ve sown so far? Are any of your actions out of alignment with your sense of integrity? Recognize real limitations and either work within them or work hard to push beyond them in responsible ways.⠀
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Image: Zodiac symbols painted Relief on the terrace of a Gopuram at Kanipakam Lord Shiva temple, via Wikimedia Commons⠀
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#astrology #astrologersofinstagram #astrologyposts #starstuff #spaceweather #cosmos #cosmicwisdom #asabovesobelow #rebelastrology #rebels #horoscopes #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces

Happy to hear this feedback from my client Desiree, after her Story of You Consultation last week!⠀
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Want to tie some things together in your own life? Book a session! Use the link in my bio.⠀
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DM with questions about my services. I'm always happy to talk to you!⠀
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#astrology #astrologersofinstagram #astrologyposts #starstuff #spaceweather #cosmos #cosmicwisdom #asabovesobelow #rebelastrology #rebels #astrologyreadings #birthchartreadings #birthchart

Have you ever reached that point when you were so clear on what you had to do that the fear dropped away?⠀
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Fear has no chance when our minds are made up. Fear loosens its grip on us when we have clarity about what must be done.⠀
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Clarity has that power. It diminishes fear the way light chases away the darkness.⠀
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What do you know is right? What do you know you have to do? What difference do you know you can make, right now, today? ⠀
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#wednesdaywisdom #quotes #rosaparks #womeninhistory #blackhistory #women #feminism #coach #lifecoach #coaching #fear #clarity

I was trying to do work @cocoagrinder but then I found this Mysteries of the Unknown series that Time-Life published in the 80s so nevermind.
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#bookstagram #mysteriesoftheunknown #occultbooks #80saesthetic #fridaymood #spiritsummonings

As the moon waxed to total fullness last night, I was in a room full of amazing women talking about equal pay with @ladiesgetpaid & @hiredinc. I went to this event to watch a microdocumentary about the gender pay gap, and listen to a panel of successful women talk about how we can close it. I heard stories from women who found out that they were making as much as $80,000 less than their male coworkers for doing the same job. And by the way, it's not because women don't negotiate. We do; we just don't get the salaries we ask for. We need to continue to ask for the money we deserve. We need to do research to find out what other people are being paid for the same jobs and experience, we need more pay transparency, and we need to hold companies accountable for compensation equality. There are a lot of things people say to make this issue seem more complicated, about women leaving work to have kids, or being overrepresented in underpaid jobs like teaching. But it's not really a complicated issue. It's simple discrimination. And the simple answer would be to value women and the work that women do the way we value the contributions of men. And pay us all equally. Now. This is what the higher potential of Uranus in Taurus represents to me: changing the economy. Knowing our worth. Rising up and demanding what we deserve. ⠀
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More on this + the Libra full moon in the Lunar Letter. Read & subscribe thru the link in my bio!⠀
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#nothingless #equalpay #ladiesgetpaid #feminism #astrology #astrologersofinstagram #astrologyposts #starstuff #spaceweather #cosmos #cosmicwisdom #asabovesobelow #rebelastrology #rebels